Genre: YA, fantasy
Format: hardcover
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: December 4th, 2018
Pages: 912
Goodreads summary: What if damnation is the price of true love?
Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the disease that is destroying the race of warlocks. Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.
My thoughts:
First of all let me start by saying that this review will be divided into a non-spoilery and a spoilery part. I have a lot of things to vent about, so if you haven’t read this yet make sure to skip the spoilery part!
I once again don’t know what to begin with but Queen of Air and Darkness was definitely a roller coaster ride of emotions, mostly in a good way! I say mostly because sadly, while this one was still a five star read for me (I am a bit biased, it’s true) it did not entirely live up to Clockwork Princess (which destroyed me) or even to its predecessor Lord of Shadows (which was definitely my favourite in the trilogy). It was still amazing, intense, action packed and full of emotion and plenty of amazing quotes but well, I expected a bit more. Only a bit but still more, considering this was the last book in the trilogy and Cassandra’s chance to end it with a bang.
“At the edge of everything, love and faith have always brought me back, and back to you.”
I will not talk about the characters as much as I talked about them in my review of Lord of Shadows yesterday and everything I said is true for this book as well, but I will talk about Julian and Emma. They’ve both had such amazing character development since book one and I loved watching them grow even more by the end of the book both individually and as a pair (and no, I don’t mean a couple, as I said this part is spoiler free) even though there were plenty of painful moments leading up to that growth. This is no secret, but I simply adore Julian and Emma together and there were so many hot and swoon worthy moments between them in this book, complicated relationship or not, that I loved, loved, loved reading about! There were also so many characters from the previous books that had an important part to play in this and I absolutely loved seeing everyone working together!
Now the part I mostly had a problem with was the plot. Not all of the plot, most of the storylines in the book were absolutely amazing (especially during the first third) and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a whole but well, there some things I felt were way too far fetched (even for Cassandra Clare’s world) and those are the parts I’m going to fret about. So be prepared!
SPOILERS AHEAD! SCROLL TO THE FINAL RATING IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THIS BOOK YET!
I will start with that spell. That spell! What was Julian thinking? And what was Magnus thinking giving him what he was asking for while knowing the emotional state he was in after watching Livia die? I know the spell seemed like a very convenient solution to the parabatai curse problem but still. Magnus should have known better. Now I have to admit that I quite enjoyed dark Julian but like Emma, I was still aching for old Julian to return and it was so painful to see what the spell was doing to their relationship as both a couple and parabatai and scary to think things between them might never be fixed.
Speaking of dark Julian, I have to say that he was quite scary at times, maybe even playing the role of the anti hero to get what he wanted, but I’ve always loved that part of him. As I said, one of the things I love about Julian is the fact that he can be quite ruthless when he needs to be and that he always goes to great lengths to protect those he cares about and we definitely saw that a lot in Queen of Air and Darkness. I have no idea why some people say they don’t like Julian because in my opinion he is an extremely interesting character with many different depths into his personality, every single one of which made me love him even more. Julian deserves ALL the love, if you ask me.
Mark, Cristina and Kieran. I honestly don’t know what to think of that. I love them all individually and I loved seeing the relationship and bonds between them, especially between Mark and Kieran, but I am not sure how to feel about the fact they are all basically together now. I will say one thing though, Cassandra Clare sure as hell knows how to write a love triangle.
And speaking of relationships, I want to talk about Kit and Ty for a moment. I will not comment on the fact Ty was trying to resurrect his dead sister for the whole book and that Kit was letting him even though he knew it was entirely wrong, but I will comment on where it led. I had wanted these two to be parabatai so badly and I would be totally okay with them being romantically involved instead if it weren’t for the fact that Cassandra basically ruined their relationship completely. I absolutely loved the connection between Kit and Ty in Lord of Shadows and was so sad to see it go in this book. I think these two deserve a much better ending but I am willing to let it go for now as I know they will be the main protagonists in her next trilogy and I really hope she will fix things between them in The Wicked Powers.
One thing I am not willing to let go, however, is the ending. Not the actual ending – I quite loved seeing all the characters get their happy endings and especially Emma and Julian who totally deserved it. And don’t even get me started about Magnus and Alec getting married! But the part in which Julian and Emma turned into giants and conveniently squashed the Cohort (quite literally) beneath their feet. I mean, come on. I knew the parabatai curse would be triggered and I would be okay with them being consumed by heavenly fire or even turning into angels, but giants? It felt too far fetched to me and I believe she could have handled it a lot better.
Then there was the Thule storyline. I thought it was quite interesting and did enjoy it but I also felt it was a bit unnecessary, especially because I was super anxious to see what would happen in the real world. We’re talking about a 900 pages long book so I believe it could definitely have gone without Thule. I did love the first part in faerie though (plot wise speaking) and even the final battle (save for the giant part) and I swear at some point I was hyperventilating while reading the part right before the curse was triggered.
But losing Idris? What and why? There were hundreds of Shadowhunters in the room when the Cohort played that final card and they were unable to do anything to stop it apart from giving over Idris completely and with that one of the Mortal Instruments? We have been reminded of their importance for Shadowhunters again and again but it was okay for them to leave one behind? No. Just no. There were a million ways this could have gone and she thought that giving Idris over was the best one? And I don’t care if it is something that’s going to play a part in her next books, it makes no sense whatsoever. Just like the giant part. Yes, I am not going to let that one go any time sooner.
Anyways, we did have some awesome moments with the old gang in this and I also loved Jace’s minor interaction with Kit but I would definitely have loved more interaction between these two, seeing that they are the last Herondales and all. Totally expecting Cassie Clare to fix this in the Wicked Powers too and I’m also really hoping that the other characters from TDA will make an appearance there as well. I need more Julian and Emma in my life, especially now that they’re a couple!
“Every choice has a long afterlife of consequences. No one can know the eventual outcome of any decision. All you can do is make the best choice you can make in the moment.”
Final rating: So yeah, like I said still a five star read for me but with some complaints and reservations. And definitely not as much a favorite as Lord of Shadows was. It’s very rare for me to love a second book in a trilogy more than the third one but that’s what happened in this case. So if you love Shadowhunters as much as I do, you will probably love Queen of Air and Darkness too, but be prepared to fret and roll your eyes on several occasions. 
wordsandlyricss 